CEBU City – Johnriel Casimero was quick to redeem himself from the weighty issue that marred his supposed title defense against Mauricio Fuentes of Colombia after swiftly ending their scheduled 12-round match on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old Filipino, earlier stripped of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight crown after failing to make the weight on Friday, had the badly outclassed Colombian down on the canvas thrice in the opening round to the delight of the sizeable crowd at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino here.
The end came in the final 2:59 mark when Casimero knocked out Fuentes with yet another solid right uppercut.
The Colombian was down on both knees and hardly making a move to get up, prompting referee Gerald White to put a halt to the carnage.
“Hindi nga namin inakala na matatapos namin sa ganito (knockout),” Casimero said afterwards.
The native of Ormoc City improved his record to 20-2-1, with 12 KOs as he fought his last bout as a light-flyweight after coming in five lbs over the 108-lb. limit during the official weigh-in held a day before the match.
Casimero is expected to move up at flyweight.
Fuentes, 24, saw his 10-fight winning streak came to an end as he fell to 16-2 with 10 KOs. It was the first time the Colombian fought outside of his country.
The fight card dubbed Pinoy Knockout will be shown on TV5 at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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